2018 Word of the Year

I always get excited when January rolls around.

New year = new goals, new hopes, new dreams and new adventures.

I love coming up with goals and resolutions and picking a new word of the year.  This is my SIXTH year in a row to come up with a word or theme of the year.  I've loved this tradition and love looking back on how my words of the year played out.  Some years were exactly as expected and others were nothing like I'd planned. 

My Word of the Year history:

2013: Change

2014: Thrive

2015: Enjoy

2016: Invite

2017: Care

So for 2018 my word of the year is:

GROW!!

I keep a running list in my planner of potential words throughout the year and then at the end of the year I select the word that I feel most drawn to.  This year was easy because I only had ONE word on my list!  I tried to come up with others, but I just couldn't.  Grow was the perfect word for me.

I want to GROW a garden.
I've worked hard to learn about plants, flowers, landscaping and spent so many hours taking care of ours with Kevin.  We've got big plans for our yard again this year so I want to keep working on my growing skills.

I want to GROW my friendships.
I have some really sweet friends and I want to make sure I'm caring, investing and getting to know them better and better.  I want to go out of my comfort zone and try new things.  Say yes to new opportunities, last minute invitations and just be a good friend.

I want to GROW and learn new things as a Mom.
Olive will be wrapping up preK this Spring and starting K this Fall.  I want to teach her things at home that will help her at school, teach her new things that are fun and crafty and learn how to be a good mom who does homework with her.  Fletcher will be turning 2 and he's all boy.  He's so active and physical.  I'd love to find new things to do with him that he really enjoys.

I want to GROW as a person and practice good self care
We'd love to find a church home, find good couple friends, exercise, get good rest, eat healthy and take good care of ourselves in the coming year.  We love to go on family walks so I'm hoping to do more of those when the weather warms up.  I also really enjoy cooking and meal planning so I'll be working to make a few changes each week to up our healthy eating.

I'd like to GROW and practice new hobbies.
I really enjoy doing craft projects, working on DIY projects around the house and learning new hobbies.  I have a craft closet full of things I'd like to make time for this year.  I read a book years ago about Fringe Hours... those little moments throughout the day.  I was really motivating you to spend those little chunks of time doing things you love instead of zoning out in front of a tv or screen.  All the benefits of doing things you love vs zoning out were overwhelming.

I'm a planner by nature, but I'd love to GROW in adventure this year.
I love to do things on my list, cross things off and move throughout my day.  I'm not big on spontaneous things, saying yes to spur of the moment plans, but I'd like to do more of that this year.  Maybe plan a road trip for a weekend when the weather looks great, meet up with friends in a fun spot, go some place new, try new things in our city, stop by the park on the way home from errands, etc.  I think my kids would love it!

I'd love to GROW and be able to simplify our lives.
This means that I'm getting rid of things we don't love or that clutter up our house.  It also means buying less.  I love to shop, but we just don't need all that stuff.  I like to be more content with the things I already have instead of buying just to buy.  I'd love to see us purging clothes, toys and items we haven't used in a long time.  We've purged with every move (SIX), had a garage sale, sold stuff on-line and donated things.  We know how to do it so this year will just involve us actually getting stuff done.

Lastly, I'd love to GROW our marriage.
Kevin and I have been married for almost 14 years.  We could definitely use more date nights, maybe start watching a new show together in the evenings, go to bed at the same time, work on projects together around the house and just make sure to communicate clearly and often.  Life seems hardest when we're each just rushing through our own to do lists and aren't making time to connect.

BLOG goals for the year:
Keep GROWING!  I've loved blogging for the past 7 years and making so many blog friends.  You can expect 2018 to be filled with posts about all my favorite things: holidays, crafts, reading, recipes, baking, outfits, organizing, saving money, DIYs and kids.  I'll still be blogging 4 days a week like I did last year taking Thursdays off.  I always respond to comments via email so make sure you're not a no-reply blogger.  Thank you for reading and being interested in what I do!!

Have you picked a word or theme of the year for 2018??

I'd love to hear what it is in the comments.